I am a commoner, but I will lead the empress to unify the world

Chapter 262 The Queen Repays Evil with Virtue

The next morning, all the officials of Kun State went to court. The three dukes stood at the front and all the ministers stood respectfully.

"The Queen has arrived!"

Following the eunuch's shout, the empress, dressed in a phoenix robe and wearing a phoenix crown, slowly walked in from the side door.

When the ministers saw this scene, they were shocked and immediately started to discuss it in low voices.

The queen took the lead and sat directly on the dragon throne.

An imperial censor immediately stood up and saluted,

"Your Majesty, may I ask, where is His Majesty?

This person was the one who threw off his official hat and threatened to die last time, refusing to let Emperor Kun leave the city.

"Your Majesty is ill and the imperial physician is treating him. For the next few days, I have been ordered to attend to government affairs and preside over state affairs.

This matter has been corroborated by the Three Dukes.”

"What? How is this possible?"

"How could the Emperor allow the Empress to be Regent?"

"What happened? Where's the prince? Where are the princes?"

"This is not nonsense."

The ministers were discussing this matter, and the Prime Minister stood up and shouted in a deep voice,

"The Crown Prince led the rebels in a rebellion last night, storming into the palace with the intention of assassinating Your Majesty.

In the end, more than 3,000 rebels were wiped out, and hundreds of palace guards also died heroically.

When you attended the morning court, you should have seen the bodies being carried outside the palace gate, right?"

The ministers discussed again.

"No wonder the smell of blood was so strong this morning. I saw a carriage pulling something at the side door. It turned out to be the prince's rebellion."

"There was quite a commotion last night, and many officials had their homes searched."

"No wonder none of the prince's party members came today. It turns out they rebelled and their property was confiscated."

The censor felt something was wrong and said,

"Prime Minister, the Crown Prince has always been humble and kind, loyal and filial. How could he rebel?"

The Prime Minister said with an unhappy look,

"Master Zhang, the facts are right before our eyes. The Crown Prince hasn't chopped off his head yet. How about letting the Crown Prince come and tell you in person?"

Censor Zhang took a deep breath and said,

"Even if the Crown Prince really rebelled and was to be beheaded, what about the other princes? When would it be the Queen's turn to make the decision?

Since ancient times, the harem has not been allowed to interfere in politics. Previously, Your Majesty brought the Queen to court, but after all, it was Your Majesty who presided over state affairs, so we just tolerated it.

But now that His Majesty is seriously ill, he should send the prince to govern the country and appoint a new crown prince.

My Dakun, when will it be the woman's turn to be in charge?"

The Prime Minister immediately said,

"This was said by His Majesty himself last night, and he even wrote down the imperial edict and sealed it with the imperial seal. Read it for yourself!"

As he spoke, the Prime Minister took out the imperial edict and handed it to Censor Zhang.

Censor Zhang immediately opened it and took a look, and the ministers behind him immediately surrounded him.

The imperial edict clearly stated that the empress would govern the country and the ministers would assist her.

Zhang Yushi's face turned pale instantly, and he pointed at the Prime Minister and shouted,

"This imperial edict is clearly in your handwriting, not His Majesty's!"

"What you said is nonsense. Your Majesty is bedridden, how can he write?"

"You are forging an imperial edict. This is a shameless coup. Your Majesty cannot issue such an order. Absolutely not!"

Zhang Yushi felt like the sky was falling, and roared in anger,

"I want to see your Majesty, I want to see your Majesty!"

Sitting on the dragon throne, the queen said coldly,

"Then go ahead. I'm not stopping you. Someone, give Censor Zhang the golden medal and allow him to enter the harem and meet His Majesty in the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

"Yes!"

The eunuch immediately came before Censor Zhang with the gold medal in both hands.

Zhang Yushi was dumbfounded. Shouldn't the other party have chopped off his head in anger at this point? Why did they let him see His Majesty?

After thinking for a moment, he immediately took the gold medal and turned to the ministers and said,

"Wait here for me. I'll go see His Majesty. We'll see the outcome when I come back!"

Censor Zhang took the gold medal and followed the eunuch into the harem.

After he left, all the ministers talked about it and were skeptical.

A quarter of an hour later, Censor Zhang came back and the eunuch returned the gold medal to the queen.

Censor Zhang was in a state of daze and distracted, and came into the hall like a walking corpse.

"Master Zhang, what does the emperor say?"

The ministers asked hurriedly.

Censor Zhang looked at them, opened his mouth, then looked at the Queen, and finally said,

"What they said is true. The prince did rebel, and there are guards cleaning up the blood in the back garden.

The emperor was indeed seriously ill. The imperial physician was preparing medicine for him. The emperor had woken up and was lying in bed.

When I went to see the emperor, he was barely breathing and looked pale.

The imperial physician said that the emperor was in very poor health, and his illness was made even more serious by the workload of state affairs and the prince's rebellion.

I asked the emperor about these things, and he told me everything one by one, and also asked us to assist the queen well.

The Empress has been accompanying the Emperor in attending government affairs for the past few months, and she understands political affairs."

After hearing this, the ministers no longer had any doubts.

Censor Zhang was well-known for his fearlessness of death, his incorruptibility, and his fearlessness of power. Otherwise, he would not have dared to scold the empress and the prime minister, and he would not have threatened the emperor with death by throwing his hat down last time.

He is devoted to his country and will never lie.

Censor Zhang walked to the center of the hall, took off his official hat, placed it on the ground, knelt down and said,

"I, your Majesty, have been so ignorant as to offend and insult the Empress and the Prime Minister. Please punish me."

"Then, Lord Zhang, what is the crime and punishment?"

The queen stood up and slowly walked down the steps, speaking as she walked.

Censor Zhang immediately said,

"Your Majesty, I have defied the Prime Minister and insulted him. I deserve to be dismissed from my post. I have insulted the Queen Mother, an unforgivable crime. I shall be punished by being skinned like a daylily, and my entire family shall be exiled as slaves. All my property shall be confiscated and put into the national treasury."

At this time, the queen had come to him, bent down, picked up the official hat, and said,

"I love your life."

Censor Zhang stood up.

The queen raised her hand and put the official hat back on him personally.

"My lady..."

Censor Zhang was stunned when he saw this.

The Queen's beautiful face showed a hint of smile, and she said,

"If Censor Zhang dies, how can I find another loyal minister who is not afraid of life and death, nor of power, and who is wholeheartedly devoted to the country?

This palace forgives you and reinstates you."

After saying this, the queen turned and walked towards the dragon throne.

Zhang Yushi was so moved that he burst into tears and immediately knelt down and shouted,

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!"

This act of repaying evil with kindness and showing magnanimity completely impressed Censor Zhang and also improved the impression of other ministers in the court towards the queen.

Perhaps, under the leadership of the Queen, Da Kun can survive this crisis.

After all, the queen has a good temper, a broad mind, and is willing to listen to others, so they don't have to worry about being punished for their words.

The ministers discussed some state affairs, and the queen handled them in an orderly manner.

Just as the court was about to end, the sound of hurried horse hooves was heard outside.

"Report! Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!"

The guard rushed over quickly with the memorial.

The eunuch immediately stepped forward, took the letter and handed it to the queen.

After the queen opened it and took a look, her face changed drastically!

"Mother, what happened?"

The Prime Minister asked.

Queen Tang Xinyi took a deep breath and said,

"The Yan army did not attack Niebei's defense line, but took a detour through Ziyang County."